AAP urges LG to intervene in civic workers' strike

New Delhi, Feb 5: Delhi's ruling AAP on Friday urged Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to look into the situation arising out of the ongoing strike by employees of the capital's three main civic bodies, party leader Somnath Bharti said.

A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including legislators Alka Lamba, Vishesh Ravi, Nitin Tyagi, Kartar Singh Tanwar and Anil Bajpai, met Jung here and handed over a memorandum about the raging issues in the civic bodies.

"We have given a memorandum (to the lt. governor) and it summarises the issues which we have raised before him," Bharti said.

The Delhi government has already paid all the dues to the municipal bodies but the amount meant for salaries has been diverted or misused, the memorandum said, adding that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) owed Rs.1,555 crore cumulatively to the three civic bodies and the amount, if released, will take care of the salaries of a majority of the staff.

"We expect him (Jung) to come (down) heavily on the MCD to fix this issue. We are waiting for his reaction and the moment the strike gets resolved, we will believe that he has done something," he added.

Employees of Delhi's three civic bodies - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation - have been protesting the non-payment of their salaries and wages over the past few months.

They have directed their ire at both the Delhi and central governments and have remained on strike since the past 10 days, adversely affecting the city's schools, hospitals and sanitation services.

IANS